The LPB funded digital short ‘Amigas with Benefits’ will be streaming in competition at the 2017 PBS Online Film Festival. Set within the backdrop of a nursing home, ‘Amigas’ tells the heartwarming, funny, and timely story of two elderly lesbians who nearly have their wedding day ruined by an uninvited guest.

Credit: AdeRisa Productions

Writer / director Adelina Anthony is no stranger to telling stories about love and LGBTQ issues. Last year she produced and starred in ‘Goldstar,’ which won the People’s Choice award at the 2016 PBS Online Film Festival. ‘Goldstar’ follows the tribulations of a young daughter who dedicates a love song to her female teacher, and a mother who must face her biases as she comes to terms with reality. Along with Marisa Becerra, Adelina runs AderisaProductions (a mix of both their names), where they produce “bold, entertaining and high caliber queer and trans people of color films, with an emphasis on X/Chicana stories.” LPB is proud to once again be partnering with AderisaProductions to bring “Amigas with Benefits” to the PBS Online Film Festival and beyond.

Since its start in 2012, the PBS Online Film Festival has attracted more than 4.5 million viewers, showcasing powerful and engaging stories from filmmakers from across the country. Beginning July 17, the festival will be available via PBS and station digital platforms, including PBS.org, YouTube and PBS social media channels. The films will also be available via the PBS app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku and FireTV devices. Viewers are encouraged to watch, vote and share their favorite film by going to festival page. The film with most votes will receive the “Most Popular” award. Additionally, a distinguished panel of eight jury members will select their favorite film of the festival for the “Juried Prize.” For updates on the festival, follow #PBSFilmFest on Twitter. Stay tuned for another blog post where we will interview Adelina where we’ll talk about her inspiration behind ‘Amigas.’ For more information on the 2017 PBS Online Film Festival, and to watch this year’s festival trailer, please click here. To watch the trailer for ‘Amigas with Benefits,’ click here.2804 Views

Latino Public Broadcasting is the leader of the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to the public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. LPB provides a voice to the diverse Latino community on public media throughout the United States.